Worried Student Nurse

Here I am about half way in my ADN Program, and I am beginning to worry about a job when I am finished.

It seems every where I am reading/hearing about more and more foreign nurses immigrating to the States because of the shortage. I am trying not to sound prejudice against foreign people and professionals, but those immigrating seem to have an advantage over the rest of us. They have guaranteed positions when they arrive.

I am beginning to worry that here in midlife when this male nursing student decided to begin a new career as a nurse, that all the positions will be filled by someone else before I graduate!!

We need more accelerated programs for those of us who already have a degree and similar programs to train Americans to work in the American health care systems. I am far enough along that any new program will not help me as it would be at least a year before they will be up and running.

As you know, student nurses have enough to worry about, but, I am still worried about the influx of foreign nurses.

There will still be plenty of nursing jobs available when you graduate!

If this is all you have to worry about, you are a very lucky person!

Jan 11, '03

I don't think you have anything to worry about. I live in a community with a very large foreign population, and trust me on this, there has not been any influx of nurses -- foreign or American -- to any hospital in my surrounding area. We continue to work under nursing shortage conditions and it grows worse everyday.

You will have your pick of positions when you graduate, so BE PICKY!

Jan 11, '03

One of the major local hospitals here in Seattle recently announced plans to bring in 100 Phillipine nurses to ease their staffing problems.

However, even though these nurses do have some advantage in that they have a 'guaranteed' job, they still have to complete licensing and competency exams here in the U.S. The hospital estimated that out of 100 nurses, about 60 would actually make it through the licensing and probationary periods to become staff nurses.

I'm still a student, but I'm not worried by this hospital--it is still aggressively recruiting local nurses, since it is FAR cheaper to bring in local nurses than it is to send recruiters to the Phillipines, sort out 100 top candidates, and then lose almost half of those candidates before they even start. The 'poaching' of the best and brightest nurses from third-world nations has gone on for years in Great Britain; it's just now starting in the U.S., and I expect it will be the same as it is in Great Britain and not make much of dent in the number of nursing jobs available to new grads.

Remember, there are not nearly enough nurses graduating each year to meet the demand--our aging population plus the number of nurses hitting retirement age each year means jobs aplenty. Good luck with your studies!!

Jan 11, '03

if one is in a large area with several hospitals, clinics, school, etc, there is not much concern about getting a job, however, if one lives in a small town, like i once did, you know jobs are hard to come by, especially if you don't won't to drive miles to a job.

i encounter here in this large area where i am [very recently], or at least the employer says so, there is a freeze on hiring even though the help is needed. yes, this is one isolated case i personally know of, but it does makes one wonder.

getting a job can mean several different things to several different people. i know first hand that money is not the very underlying reason one takes a job but insurance, staffing, area etc.

locating/landing a job sometimes causes some to take what you don't like until you are able to get what you like, but i do agree, there will be jobs available when you finish.

i too wish you all the best in your studies and in all of your future endeavors.

Jan 11, '03

Thanks Guys,

I appreciate your encouragement. I guess you are probably right, but I am investing a lot of "me" besides money in my new career, and at 56, I just do not wnat to come up short at the end of the course.

Jim

Jan 11, '03

Don't worry. Get your license and decide what you want to do. There are jobs everywhere and you can practically pick and choose right now. I worried in 1996 when there was no shortage and I have never had a problem getting what I want with the days and hours that I want. Every week I get offers in the mail. This is a great time to be a nurse!

Jan 11, '03

The above posters are correct- while some hospitals are working to bring in foreign nurses, there is still a shortage of nurses. Foreign nurses are still a very small percentage of nurses working in the US.

Concentrate on doing well in your program. Do some research in the locality where you want to work, ask around and see what the hiring situation is, and where most of the RN job openings are--this will help you to know what jobs to target when you are closer to finishing. Sounds like you will be finished in about a year--it is a lengthy process for hospitals to hire foreign nurses, and there will still be jobs, probably lots of them, when you finish!

Jan 11, '03

Move to Florida. We currently have thousands (literally) of unfilled positions and this will only get worse if predictions hold true.

Our hopsital is currently actively recruiting in Canada. We've been quite successful in stealing, I mean recruiting Canadians. In the past they've recruited in the Phillipines and even Jamaica. But with poor results.

Relax your mind.

Jan 11, '03

It's fine to worry because it shows you care. Don't let it impact and spread a debris field of your available acetylcholine . What that means is that you should just keep going, and jetison this "age" thing you have from your spaceship, because it's gonna win in the end anyway.
To really succeed, you must first approach, sustain and then go beyond the speed of light (300,000 km/sec). Become a CNA and enter your future, and arrive at a place you want to be as an RN as a CNA. By breaking this speed barrier and advancing into your future you will destroy stress and anxiety, and become an RN with an intact neurotransmitter receptors :-(Just be careful as you approach the speed of light because everything starts to become blue shifted. Cope with the blue shift until you reach light speed. The laws of physics apply to all nursing students. Calling occupants of interplanetary craft!